An iCar – really Apple?

Editor: Dennis Dahlgren

I get the fact that companies want to spread out and cover as much ground as possible; but really Apple … cars, really?

It's not the first time we hear about Apple and cars; even before they went into mobile the company was considering venturing into the automotive industry. Back in 2007 (the release year for the first generation iPhone) reports about a potential Apple/Volkswagen collaboration were flying wild.

The American tech-giant is – once again? – looking to grow beyond mobile devices and venture into the automotive industry in its attempt to make a self-driving electric car. The company is reportedly talking to experts at unnamed car-manufacturers and automotive suppliers, according to a report in Reuters citing a senior auto industry source.

I'm not against the idea of Apple trying to make its way into the future with self-driving cars, I'm just not sure about an iCar (all I can see is a white bubble with a tinted black glass roof with as much durability as an iPhone – oh God.) And as long as it doesn't drive like Siri.

The company is currently exploring how to make an entire vehicle, not just some components or designing software for it. The source told Reuters that the Apple doesn't seem to want a lot of help from carmakers.

I guess we'll see if the company actually releases an electric car or a more evolved autonomous vehicle, or if this – like many other stories surrounding Apple – is just a rumour.

But several seem to think there's some truth to this. The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has set up a secret lab – now this is starting to sound like a James Bond movie – focusing on the development of an electric car, which of course the internet has dubbed “The iCar”. Reportedly, the lab was operational late last year, just after the revealing of the upcoming iPhones.

If the iPhone maker actually is making a car – and succeeds – it would change the company, a lot. It would include an entirely new division hungry for dollars in both manufacturing cost and research. How that would affect the other parts of the company, only time will tell, if this in fact happens.